Heat, Harris
- When
- July 12, 7:33 PM CST
- Where
- Harris forecast zone
- Deaths
- 1 direct, 0 indirect
- Reported by
- GOVT OFFICIAL
- Coordinates
- 29.857, -95.392 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Female died of heat exposure while outside.
Heat in Texas, July 12, 2001
1 heat, as filed by the National Weather Service.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The toll
- Deaths
- 1
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 1
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
What forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Houston/Galveston, TX wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jul 12, 1:19 PM CST, 6 hours 14 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Jul 12, 1:19 PM CST, 6 hours 14 minutes before
SOUTHEAST TEXAS FORECAST DISCUSSION...CORRECTED PRELIM CLOUDS NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX 219 PM CDT THU JUL 12 2001 OUR BEST SHOT FOR SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS IN OVER A WEEK WILL BE DEVELOPING LATE ON FRIDAY AND ON INTO SATURDAY. THE STRONG UPPER RIDGE THAT HAS KEPT US DRY WILL DRIFT A BIT TO THE WEST DURING THE NEXT SEVERAL DAYS. THIS WILL ALLOW IMPULSES RIDING OVER THE RIDGE TO DRIFT SOUTHWARD TOWARD SOUTHEAST TEXAS. IN ADDITION...A WEAK FRONTAL BOUNDARY WILL DRIFT TOWARD THE AREA FROM THE NORTHEAST AND BECOME A FOCUS FOR STORM DEVELOPMENT. EXPECT A STORM COMPLEX TO FORM ON FRIDAY WELL TO OUR NORTH AND MAKE ITS WAY TO THE SOUTH TOWARD SOUTHEAST TEXAS ON FRIDAY NIGHT AND SATURDAY. AS THE POSSIBLE MCS WEAKENS...ENOUGH ENERGY WILL BE ABLE TO INTERACT WITH THE FRONTAL BOUNDARY AND DAYTIME HEATING ON SATURDAY TO GIVE US OUR BEST SHOT FOR RAIN (PRECIP WATER VALUES WILL BE CLOSE TO 2 INCHES...CAPES 2000-3000...AND LI VALUES AROUND -4). MODELS CONTINUE TO FILTER SOME DRIER AIR INTO THE AREA ON SUNDAY FROM THE NORTHEAST...WITH THE GREATEST MOISTURE LEVELS LINGERING IN OUR SOUTHWEST ZONES. WILL KEEP A SLIGHT CHANCE TO CHANCE FORECAST FOR THE AREA ON SUNDAY. FORECAST FOR NEXT WEEK WILL DEPEND ON STRENGTH OF RETURNING UPPER LEVEL RIDGE. CURRENT MODEL DATA SUGGESTS THAT THE STRENGTH OF THE RIDGE AXIS MAY ALLOW FOR ISOLATED SHOWERS OR THUNDERSTORMS TO FORM ALONG A WEAK SEABREEZE FRONT EACH AFTERNOON. WILL RETAIN SLIGHT CHANCE IN THE FORECAST FOR THE IAH AND GLS GROUPS AND DRY OUT THE CLL AREA. BUT RIDGING COULD END UP STRONG ENOUGH TO SUPPRESS ALL STORM FORMATION RESULTING IN ANOTHER RAIN FREE WEEK. STAY TUNED. .HGX...NONE. 42/47/BT PRELIMS... CLL BE 075/099 075/094 072 002 IAH BE 075/097 075/092 072 -22 GLS BE 079/091 079/091 076 -22
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 heat. Local standard time, as filed.
The people who died
As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.
| Event | Date | Age | Sex | Where | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heat, Harris | 2001-07-12 | 78 | Female | Outside/Open Areas | Direct |
What these are
- Heat
- Heat below excessive heat criteria that still caused deaths, injuries or significant impacts.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Flash Flood in Washington, July 12, 2001
- Heat in Mississippi, July 12, 2001
- Flash Flood and Hail in Montana, July 12 to 13, 2001
- Wildfire in California, July 12, 2001
- Flash Flooding and Hail in Montana, July 12, 2001
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Mississippi, July 12, 2001
- Damaging Winds in Louisiana, July 12, 2001
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Oklahoma, July 12, 2001
- Lightning Strike in Colorado, July 12, 2001
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Kansas, July 12, 2001
- Damaging Wind in Missouri, July 12, 2001
- Damaging Wind in Missouri, July 12, 2001
More
Every storm in Texas in 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyWarnings in Texas, July 2001
Sources
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5263583.